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Thirteen Queenslanders have been named in the Australian 17/U, 19/U and Tall athlete squads ahead of camps to be held in June and September this year.

The three squads were named following performances at the National Netball Championships in April, where Queensland 17/U earned a bronze medal and Queensland 19/U took silver.

Lorna Jane Queensland Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke said Queensland’s strong representation was a great reflection on the state’s dedication to athlete development.

“I want to extend my congratulations to each of the players and their families for their national selection,” Jencke said.

“With 13 players selected, Queensland matches New South Wales with the equal most athlete representation among Australia’s states, which is a great reflection of the work Netball Queensland’s high-performance team are doing to identify talent and help them reach their potential.

“With continued hard work and development, we hope these players can reach the elite levels of our sport and become the next generation of Queensland Firebirds and Australian Diamonds stars.”

Netball Australia High Performance Pathway General Manager Stacey West said the camps provided an opportunity to develop and progress into the elite Australian netball pathway.

“Whether it’s their first experience in the national pathway or they’ve been in the system a while, these athletes will benefit from specialised coaching to further develop their position-specific skills,” West said.

“The 17/U camp focusses on their development of their playing position, developing their skill set in the attack and defence units, then translating this new knowledge into match-play.

“Whereas, the 19/U and Talls camps extend the athletes’ knowledge and application in specialised skill, stretching and challenging the players to start thinking a bit differently.”

All three camps will be held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, with the 19/U and Tall Athletes camps beginning 25 June and the 17/U camp from 25 September.